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A Venomous Nightmare
---- An Unexpected Reunion Andrei wiped away a bead of sweat from his forehead. It was burning in his personal workshop. He stretched as he set down the blowtorch, rubbing his exposed shoulder. Andrei was dressed in a blank tank top, and a pair of yoga pants, his usual apparel on a Monday when he was working. He didn't often go out in clothes like this, it clung to his toned physique, brought more attention to him. Andrei hated being the center of attention, he didn't like being stared at, it was why he always wore clothes that were loose. Not only were they comfortable, they didn't bring more attention to him. He turned off the furnace, and let the AC blast. He walked out of his workshop, closing the door and fetching a glass of water. As soon as he had finished the glass, the bell to his front door rang. It was probably Satoru, a friend of his. Andrei had been working on a modification for his suit, so it made sense Satoru would drop by to check up on it. Andrei set the glass aside, went up to his front door and opened it. It didn't take long to see that this wasn't Satoru. A face he would never expect to see, Maaya Xavier, stood in the weirdest clothes ever. Shades, hat, jacket, jeans and boots covered every inch of her body and it was clear she was too hot yet she shivered. Fear riddled her as she just looked at Andrei for a few seconds, speechless. She forced a smile as she took her shades off. "Long time no see?" she said as she thought of the last time they had met. It was only a few months ago but she knew she was already out of her league. He told her not to come back but here she was. Right in front of Andrei. Andrei turned as pale as a piece of paper. There was no way she was here, it wasn't possible. He had never thought he'd see her again. Was he complaining, however? No, he was simply confused. Why would she come to him after what he had done? He had ruined her, destroyed whatever could have been for them. She was dressed in a strange apparel, probably because she was in hiding, or something along those lines. "Hey," Andrei murmured in greeting. He opened the door, gesturing for her to come on in. He wouldn't make eye contact with her, he was too scared, something which confused Andrei. "What brings you back here?" he asked. Maaya was relieved he wasn't angry like she was expecting. At least it was one less thing on her list to worry about. She looked left and right before stepping inside, with that she let out a large sigh almost like she had been holding her breath until now. She stood for a few seconds before getting rid of her hat and shades and loosening her jacket. She fanned herself but didn't sit down. There was a pause of silence as she did all of this and she avoided the question. She closed her eyes and sighed again. "I am being hunted, Andrei," she wavered a little at saying her name. The times his name was mentioned was in vain and hate at the Troupe. Andrei brought a seat for her, gesturing for her to take it. "You're being hunted?" he asked, shocked. "That's why I told you to never come back, there are a lot of people after you, including Heroes." She shook her head. "I never left Andrei but someone knew everything..." she stopped as she sat down, thanking him without words and she started to take her jacket off. Underneath was a sleeveless top but she didn't really care, it was her neck. It felt like fire. "I am being hunted not by a Hero but by a Bounty Hunter," with that she took her jacket off and moved her neck to the side. A large black spot was there with two red holes that seemed to be on fire. It didn't stop at a mark on her neck though, black seemed to travel down her veins to the end of her right arm, just stopping before her wrist. "I... I think I was poisoned!" Andrei cursed. "Shit." he murmured, yanking over Maaya to a different place. A smaller version of his workshop, he laid her arm on the table and had he sit down. He jogged away and came back with a toolbox. He took off his ring, something she had seen before, and placed it on his right eye. It transformed, becoming a strange microscope of sorts. He tapped the side of it a few times and looked at the black marks. "Yeah, you've been poisoned alright. How long ago were you bitten?" Maaya went with the rush of wind. She didn't expect him to care but he did. She smiled softly. She had to have more faith in people it seemed. She cursed under her breath though. "I don't know when but it can't be more than a day. Some of the Troupe said they saw a pitch black snake go by but a snake wouldn't bite one person then go off would it?" She generally had no clue about poison and some part of her hoped Andrei knew what he was talking about. Maybe he would know who did it or even know how to cure it. Maaya couldn't believe what she was doing. The Troupe would be going crazy at her disappearance by now. What else could she do though? "Hm," Andrei murmured, examining the marks. "I'd say the poison has a few days before it settles in. 5 or 6 days, to be more exact," he said. "Although, the...venom here doesn't seem to have a malevolent ability. It doesn't have that poison to kill you. It's playing with your nervous system, trying to reprogram it, to take control over it." Maaya blinked a couple of times. Any doubts were now gone. "R-Right but you know how to cure it right?" "I'll be honest, no," he responded, leaning back in his chair. "I'm pretty sure I know who did this, but I can't get that cure." "Although," Andrei began. "I could just remove those nerves, and replace them using artificial ones. It'd take a while, 12 hours at least. You'd have to stay here for as long as it takes. Maaya pondered for a second if Andrei didn't know a cure and was offering a solution what was to stop her from taking it. "Wouldn't the venom keep spreading?" she asked thinking of how far it had spread since she found the patch of black on her neck. "That's why I'll start by removing the main part that's been impacted," Andrei began. "Then I work on the infected nerves, replacing them completely." Maaya nodded. She felt parched for some reason as she thought about an operation to save her life but what else could she do? Andrei was offering a solution and as far as she knew there was no other way to fix this problem. She smiled softly and looked at Andrei. "Hey, thank you. You could've sent me straight to jail there and then but instead you're helping me so... thank you, really." "Yeah, no problem," Andrei replied, smiling in kind. Andrei wasn't that proactive with people, but with Maaya...he felt like he could talk to her. He looked into his toolbox, pulling out a drill of sorts. He took of one of his charms, tossing it on the ground. It expanded outwards, becoming a table of sorts. He pulled out some metal from seemingly nowhere, as well as other components and began work. "This," Andrei began. "Will be the replacement to the infected bit in your neck. Once it's in, I can use a remote I'll make to control it's expansion and connection to your other nerves while I remove the infected bits." "I'll be honest, once it begins to expand, it'll hurt. So just be prepared, please." Maaya took a deep breath before letting it out. She nodded and listened to Andrei closely, happy to follow any and all instructions given to her. After a few hours of small talk, Andrei brandished his new piece. It gleamed, spherical in nature. He moved back beside Maaya, moving her hair away from her neck. He set aside the creation and offered her his hand. "It's going to hurt, so you may need something to squeeze," he said, somewhat jokingly. With his free hand, he took the specialized drill and began to dig straight into her neck. A small timid laugh came out of Maaya as she laid there. Then the drill came on. The hand became a lifesaver as she gripped onto it in dear life. She didn't scream quite yet but the squint of her eyes and the hissing sound that seemed to escape her mouth demonstrated she was trying her hardest. The more pain she was in the harder she gripped onto Andrei's hand forgetting that it was a hand at one point and simply just squeezed as hard as she could. Andrei grimaced as her hand practically dug into his own. He winced, holding in a cry of frustration. However, he had to keep his cool. Using his thumb, he stroked the top of her hand. "It'll be alright, I'm almost done..." he whispered gently. Soon, he yanked his hand out of her own, stretching it out before he grabbed his creation. As soon as he had finished, he removed the chunk of skin he had drilled out, setting it in a sterile environment right in front of Maaya. He pulled out a pair of tweezers and got to work. Blood was gushing out, and he worked as fast as possible. He chopped out the infected bit and pulled it out, placing his creation in place. It expanded outwards, connecting with the parts he had removed. He sighed in relief, moving onto the next step. He grabbed the chunk of skin and placed it slowly back into its spot, pulling out gear to stitch it back together, and he got to stitching her skin back. Maaya winced and cried in pain. She had felt all manner of pain but never this much in just helping herself. "H-hey when we are done?" she said in between breaths. "You think I should just chill?" she laughed at herself before wincing in pain again. Andrei laughed. "Don't worry, I don't have to chop off your arm now," he responded. He moved over to one of his computers, pressed a few keys and a live-video popped off. It was the inside of Maaya's arm. "I'll be able to move it from here. It'll slowly burn away the preexisting nerves and replace them with my own. Plus, if it finds any other infected nerves in you, it'll go replace it by itself. Just gonna have to manually move it for now so the AI understands what it's supposed to do." And with that, Andrei got to work. "Make yourself feel at home while I do this." Maaya slowly sat up, unsure what to do. "Uh.. thanks," she said for the millionth time today. She sat and looked around, taking in her surroundings of Andrei's workspace. "I know you said you made things but damn, you go all out don't you?" She laughed softly as she realised just how much of a mess she was in. For all she knew, this wasn't the end of her Bounty Hunter's hunt. She looked at Andrei and shook her head. Here she was, bothering another man with her own problems. What else could she do though? She was powerless. He smiled, although Maaya wouldn't be able to see it. "Yeah. It's what I do considering I don't sleep for most of the week," he responded. "Basically everything in this house was made by me." he continued, moving the bot inside of her. He tapped his foot on the ground three times and called out her name. A robot came rolling out of the kitchen, with a variety of drinks on a plate. "Take one," Andrei called out. "You'll have to stay the night, you can use the Guest Room." Maaya took a drink and thanked the robot, unsure what else to do. Sipping on it she just stared at Andrei working. "Sooooooo," she said with a pause. "I've stopped kidnapping children, you proud of me?" she said with a laugh unsure what to talk about it. There wasn't any tension in the air and Andrei was being sweet but she didn't want to seem rude and step over whatever line Andrei may have. One thing for sure, she thought she stepped over it a long time ago. Andrei laughed in response. "That's good. I'll just pretend I've never seen you steal cash then," he responded. The bot kept moving, burning away her infected nerves, replacing them as it went on its path. "Alright, I got a good angle here. I can have it finished in like a few seconds if you don't mind the pain." Maaya gulped down some more of her juice and laughed at Andrei. "Wow you make me sound like I am some sort of villain," she said with great sarcasm. Somehow this was normal yet it wasn't. "Go for it, can't be as painful as that drill!" she teased as she braced herself a little. "Alright then..." Andrei murmured. He pressed a button and the bot zoomed through her arm. It was as if acid had been poured onto her arm, it would be that painful. However, the pain would only last a few seconds, but it would be excruciating. "Easy peas-" Maaya was about to say as the pain hit. She squints her eyes and sounded like she was about to cry in the pain but before she did the pain disappeared. "I-I take it back, the drill was easier to manage!" she said as she panted a little, getting used to feeling.. nothing. She couldn't feel her right arm. It was a weird feeling to have as she looked at it. Least it wasn't black. He laughed. "Sorry about that, at least your arm's better," he said, smiling. "You can leave if you want," Andrei said. "You could also stay until your arm heals, but it's up to you. Won't your troupe be looking for you?" Maaya shook her head. Hoshiko would know why she had left seeing as she saw the snake and the black spot in the first place. The others... she bit her lip. "I don't want to go back in case he comes for them too," she stated before trying to joke. "Least you got some armour to protect yourself, right?" He nodded. "Alright then," he responded, standing up to his full height. "Alright. The guest room's up the stairs, third room on the left. I don't have any clothes for you, but I could send out one of my bots to get some." Maaya smiled and shook her head. "You're too kind Andrei. My clothes I have the now should do, it's only a little bit of blood here and there," she waved him off with ease. She was used to pushing people away and not accepting help. This was more of her comfort zone. He sighed. "Well, I think it'd be better if you're more at home here," he responded, sending one of his bots off. "It'll be back with some clothes for you. In the meantime, you can go freshen up before dinner, alright?" "Thanks, again," she laughed, how many times was she going to say this but really she was thankful. Andrei had gone a long way for her and she didn't expect all of this for her. Maaya looked at her drink and gulped down the rest. "So, doctor Andrei Solokvi, how long will my arm been feeling like nothing for?" she asked with a tone that suggested she was playing but the question was serious. She didn't mind having an arm without the black gunk in it but feeling it was vital, especially if she was to get back to her performances at the Troupe. Andrei smirked. "By the time you'll wake up, it'll be better," he responded. He checked his watch. "Alright, you should head to sleep. If you need me, I'll be in my main workshop, down in the basement. I'll be up all night," he continued, heading down the stairs. "Sleep tight." Maaya didn't protest with that statement. The day had been long and it could've been longer. With a wave she went upstairs and into the third room onto the left like he stated the guest room was. It was need to just have a proper bed for once as she looked at it. Travelling with the Troupe usually left her sleeping in the van, the floor or at best, a sleeping bag though she usually would end up sleeping with a bunch of children nearby. Taking off her shoes and leaving them to the side she relaxed on top of the bed, pondering about the Troupe. It was the only thing that came to mind to her really. The Troupe stayed on her mind when she was away but eventually she started to get tired and the thoughts became just a mangle of thoughts. Maaya went to sleep with a small smile on her face. Andrei nodded as he saw Maaya enter the room. He jogged downstairs and into the basement. He stretched his back as he got to work on his newest piece of equipment; a brand new Hero Suit for himself. The Morning After Waking up felt weird for Maaya. She had slept soundlessly, something that she wasn't used to with her usual sleep in trucks and floors, but it was a foreign place to wake up in. She knew where she was, she wasn't that lost, but it didn't help but feel almost surreal and wrong. Maybe it was just the lack of a normal sleep for once but whatever it was Maaya got back up. She found, on the floor, her clothes. They were most likely placed neatly by Andrei's robot on the bed but Maaya had a habit of tossing and turning she took a lot at the clothes and studied them almost like they were under some sort of evaluation. It was rather plain and simple, a white shirt and black jeans, but Maaya smiled softly as she got changed into them, putting her clothes to the side. She would grab them when she left. She did, however, attempt to grab a jumper that was lying on the side to find it a few sizes too big for her. With a shrug, she wore it and decided to head downstairs. She poked her head from the stairs and gave a small shout, "morning?" "Greetings, Ms. Xavier." a bot responded as it rolled up in front of Maaya. The bot scanned her. "Your arm seems to be to functioning properly. Please head to the kitchen, a meal shall be served," it spoke robotically, rolling away towards the kitchen. On the table was a buffet of sorts, waffles, pancakes, bowls of cereal were just some of the items on the table. "Mr. Sokolov will join you shortly." the robot said. Maaya turned up her nose at the robot. Being part of a circus and being called Ms, this was something she wasn't a fan of. Even so, she followed the instructions left by the robot and went downstairs to the pallet of food waiting for her. At least this was something she didn't have to stand in awe and be amazed at, she had eaten a lot of food and kept in her tent from her travels. With a small smile, she dived into some waffles, drenching it with syrup. She could almost hear Hoshiko asking if she wanted a sprinkle of waffles with her syrup. She missed her already but she went on with her waffles, munching down like there was no tomorrow. Andrei jogged up to the kitchen, smiling. “Morning, Maaya,” he said taking a seat across from her. He looked at her outfit and raised a brow. “Is...that my jumper?” he asked, perplexed. “Guess it’s yours now.” he joked, taking a bite out of his waffle. “So, how’d you sleep?” A small laugh escaped her lips. "Shouldn't leave your things lying around Mr Sokolov," she teased while shoving more food into her mouth. LIke she was taught no matters she spoke in between her bites. "It was pretty good, weird waking up in an actual bed though, used to sleeping on the floor or trucks," she explained with another bite of syrup covered waffles. "Did you enjoy your night?" she asked remembering that he didn't sleep. He turned slightly red at that comment. “That’s how to bots refer to people in my database. By their surname,” he responded, taking a bite out of his pancake, which had been drowned in syrup. “My night was okay. I was working on a new project for myself.” Another laugh, this one was more joyful. The presence of Andrei was no longer scared her at least. "Hey I got some surprise when they called me Ms Xavier, most people just call me names like Pinkie or Phantom," she laughed again before taking another bite, the waffle had almost lost its battle. "Can I see your project?" she asked while cleaning up her plate. The circus life had got to her head as she ate with little manners, it's why she avoided eating while she ws near richer people. She pushed the thought away. He smiled. “I’ll stick to calling you Maaya, don’t worry,” he responded, running a hand through his hair. “Although, Pinkie’s a cute name.” he teased. He wolfed down another pancake. “Yeah, I can show it to you. It’s not done yet, so don’t judge it too harshly.” Maaya made a face. "You can attempt it but Hoshiko has been the only one to get away with it so far and I will be the judge of it. If it isn't shiny enough it's clearly crap," she joked as she got up from her seat, taking her plate to the kitchen sink. "Haha, very funny, Pinky," Andrei responded, standing from his chair. He stretched, his tank top showing itself to be a bit smaller than his actual size. Once he had finished stretching, he pulled his tank top downwards to cover his exposed ab region. He proceeded to let out a loud burp. "Sorry about that." He turned towards the basement, where his forge was. "After you," "Sorry for what, the stomach or the blech Mr Sokolov?" she asked teasingly as she went towards the basement with a smirk. He looked away, his neck turning red. "The burp, of course," he responded. "Sorry about the other thing too, I didn't know it'd show..." he murmured. He went down the stairs and turned on the lights. Compared to the other workshop Maaya had seen, this one was massive, at least five times bigger. "Here we are." Maaya patted him on the back playfully. "Now now Mr Sokolov no need to be so embarrassed. I live with a circus, if I didn't have quick reactions and teasing skills I would get the beating back at me," she said as she stepped into the workshop. Her teasing attitude stopped - for now - as she gave a moment to gawk. As usual, she was easily impressed with Andrei as she looked at the massive workshop around her. She looked at a few loose projects lying around, waiting to be finished, they almost seemed to plead as dust laid on the ones left for so long. Maaya's attention was quickly drawn to the table in front where what seemed like pieces of junk laid on. She walked up to take a closer look, walking cautiously while taking in the scene.